Back in Acts chapter 13, before
we come to our text, which is verse 38, just a little background. The book of Acts covers a period
of between 30 and 35 years. Chapter 1, where Luke again records
the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, until the last chapter,
where Paul is still, even though in prison, preaching the gospel
of Christ, 35 years. And in the Gospels, we find,
as our Lord Himself said in John chapter 12, except the corn of
wheat, of course speaking of Himself, His death and the fruit
of it, the reason for it, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it brings forth
much fruit. Now the gospel tells us how that
corn of wheat fell into the ground. And in the book of Acts, we see
the fruit of his death when he had purchased the church by his
own blood. In Acts, we see the church rising
into existence. In the Gospels, we see Christ
obtaining. I like that. We see Christ not
making a stab at it, not making it possible, not making it dependent
upon any other one than himself, because he, when by himself,
purged our sins. It was single-handed redemption.
But in the Gospels we have Christ obtaining eternal redemption
for us, and in the Book of Acts we see the risen Lord applying
that redemption to all those that He redeemed. Child of God,
that's still what's going on today. Christ is applying the
fruits of His redemption, the travail of His soul, by calling
out sinners that He redeemed on the cross. Here in the book
of Acts, or rather here in chapter 13, look at verse 1 if you will.
Just the first few words. Now there was in the church that
was at Antioch, there's another example of the travail of his
soul. Believers, a gospel church at
Antioch. This was Antioch in Syria. Now,
there was a different Antioch that Paul and Bartimaeus went
to that they preached the message. We're told that in verse 14.
But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch of Pisidia
and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. A church at Antioch. It was from
Antioch, or rather at Antioch, you remember that believers were
first called Christians. It was from the church in Antioch,
we find this in Acts chapter 11, that Paul and Barnabas were
sent out by the church to take an offering, a love gift, to
suffering believers in Jerusalem. And in chapter 12 we're told,
look down at verse 25 of chapter 12, they come back from Jerusalem
after they delivered that gift, and Barnabas and Saul return
from Jerusalem And when they had fulfilled their ministry
and took with them John, whose surname was Mark, they came back
to Antioch. And after going several places,
they came to where we just mentioned, the church where they preached
the gospel in the synagogues. This was Paul and Barnabas' first
missionary journey. The church sent them out because
God had sent them out. God ordained them, in verse 2,
and said, separate unto me Barnabas and Saul. And the church obeyed,
prayed for them, and sent them out to preach the gospel. Notice what they did. Look at verse 5. And when they
were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues
of the Jews. That's what God sent them to
do. Now Rome, as any casual reading
of history will tell you, was a decadent, immoral, perverse
society, about like what we live in today. And I'm sure, like
today, everybody wanted their rights, wanted their rights,
wanted their privileges, wanted their way. Isn't it interesting? that Paul and Barnabas never
dealt with one of those issues. There was slavery, there was
injustice, there was perversion. They didn't deal with that. They
went forth preaching the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Not one time did they address
those things. They didn't go out and try to
change government. They had bigger fish to fry,
and so do you and I. They didn't go out and try to
start schools or hospitals. They didn't build huge places
of worship and put their name on it, St. Paul, St. Peter, the
church, as my mother said, of the Holy Michael. They're in
Washington. That's not what God called them
to do. It was this, again verse 5, they
preached the word of God in the synagogue of the Jews. Separate
unto me, God commanded the church at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas
saw, to the work whereinto I have called them. And Paul repeats
again what that work was. In Romans chapter 1, you're familiar
with this. The first few verses, Paul says,
Paul, in a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
by God unto the gospel of God. Larry, do you mean a preacher
is just supposed to preach? Hello! Yes, and he's supposed
to preach the gospel. And Paul tells us what that is.
Romans 1 and 2. which He had promised before
by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures." This is the everlasting gospel.
"...concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which is made
of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared, demonstrated,
shown to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit
of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Wherever they
went, not only Paul and Barnabas, but Peter, all those that God
called out, wherever they went, their message never changed,
no matter who they were preaching to. Their message didn't change
as the place, as to the time, as to the people. Paul said,
I'm determined. to preach unto you and to know
nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Go over to the
last chapter here in Acts chapter 28. Now I don't know how much
time. I want you to look at it with
me. Take your Bibles and look at it with me. Acts chapter 28. I don't know how much time had
passed between what we read in Acts 13 in Acts 28, but it doesn't really
matter because we find Paul still doing the same thing God sent
him to do, set him apart to do. Remember, here in Acts 28, we
have the closing scene in the great apostle's life. Bear that
in mind. The curtain's being drawn. Soon,
soon, he'll be absent from the body and present with the Lord. He came to Rome as a prisoner.
He's being guarded. He's given some freedom, at least
on this occasion, but soon after that, that apparently changes
from what we read in 2 Timothy. It was at this time, in Acts
28, that Paul wrote these words. For I am now ready to be offered,
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. of course,
to his beloved Timothy. And then he concluded his last
epistle with these words. At my first answer, no man stood
with me. All men forsook me. I pray God
that it might not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding,
the Lord stood with me and strengthened me that by me the preaching might
be fully known and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall
deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me into his
heavenly kingdom to whom be glory forever and ever." And Paul said,
Amen. Let it be so. Let it be so. So be it. Here in Acts 28, look
at verse 16. Paul finally arrives at Rome. God told him several years before
this, Paul, you must bear witness of me at Rome also." And he comes
as a prisoner. And when we came to Rome, the
centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard.
Paul was a prisoner, but Paul was suffered, allowed to dwell
by himself with the soldier that kept him. Look at verse 23. Again, the curtain's about to
be drawn on Paul's life. But up until the time he draws
his last breath, Hmm. He's preaching the glorious gospel
that concerned God's Son. And when they had appointed him
a day, there came many unto him and to his watching, to whom
he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them
concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the
prophets, from morning to evening. And some believed, and some believed
not. Verse 31, we get one more peek
before the curtain closes. Preaching the kingdom of God,
that is Paul, and teaching those things with concern the Lord
Jesus Christ with all confidence. Nothing but Christ. All about
Christ. From the prophets, Paul preached. They talked about Christ. From
the Psalms, it was about Christ. The first five books, the Law
of Moses, as it was called, was all about Christ. Paul never
found the greater subject. He didn't try to. He didn't try
to. This is what God sent him out
to do. In last Sunday's bulletin, of course, you don't have the
paper copy. I trust you have the email that I sent out. But that was a good article by
Robert Hawker. He's commenting on this verse
in the book of Acts as well, chapter 5, verse 42. And daily
in the temple and in every house they, that is the apostles, cease
not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, Mr. Hawker wrote, the Lord Jesus
was with them both text and sermon. They found enough in him. I highlighted
that. I don't want to forget this.
They found enough in him for endless discourse. And he went
on to write, oh, that those glorious days would return when Christ
and Christ alone, Jehovah's Christ and Jehovah's chosen, may fill
every pulpit, occupy every house, warm every heart, and flow from
every tongue in his churches and among his people. Mr. Hawker I join you with that prayer. May God be pleased to do so.
To Paul, it didn't matter what Caesar, what particular Caesar,
was ruling at the time. What may have been socially acceptable
or politically correct never entered Paul's thinking. Why
would those things matter? Now I'm asking you, why do those
things matter? Men still have immortal souls. They did what Paul preached,
they still do. This is still true. It is appointed
unto men once to die, that includes labor. But after this the judgment,
that's still true. There's still an eternity to
spend in heaven or in hell, that's still so. And this, that Paul
wrote during his last days, is still true as well. For the time
will come, Timothy, when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers
having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from
the truth, and shall be turned undefeated. And multitudes are
still doing that very thing today. turning the fables. That's why
this place is not as crowded as those hearing fables at the
Big Baptist downtown. People don't want the gospel.
They want to hear fables. That's still so. And this is so as well. From
Amos chapter 4, God Speaking. This is the article in your bulletin. From verse 12, Therefore thus
will I do unto thee, O Israel, and because I will do this unto
thee, prepare to meet thy God." Wow. That's solemn. That's serious. That's serious. Prepare to meet thy God. When I die, I'm not going to
lie in my grave like the Jehovah Witnesses teach and my soul sleep. No, no. I'm going to be ushered
in to the presence of God. This is God speaking to Israel.
In the context, He said, I blessed you, you've prospered, and that
didn't get your attention. And then I did the reverse, I
sent famine, and that didn't get your attention. He says,
now prepare to meet thy God. That being so, that being so,
that those that Paul preached to, those that I preached to,
will soon, when a few days are gone, you're going to go out
and meet God, Terry Holt. So is Larry Criss. And God says,
prepare to meet God. Is it any wonder, is it any wonder,
that Paul preached to them the only way, the only way anybody
can ever be prepared to meet God Almighty. What else would
he preach? Who else would he tell them about
than that one who alone is able to prepare a sinner to stand
before God Almighty perfectly conformed to the image of Christ,
acceptable and to be loved, accepted and to be loved. Who else prepares
men to meet God? We read here, we didn't read
it rather, but I encourage you to do so, read the entire chapter,
but it was the custom in that day when There was a visitor in the synagogue.
After the ruler of the synagogue did his thing, as we are told
here, after the reading, verse 15, after the reading of the
law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue said unto them,
that is Paul and Barnabas, ye men and brethren, if you have
any word of exhortation for the people, say on. That was a common
thing to do after they did their thing. Read the prophets. They talk about Christ, and they
didn't see Christ. Brendan Lawley talked about Christ,
but they didn't see Christ. They said, we have some visitors
here. You men have anything? Do you
have a word of exhortation for the congregation? A lot of them
wish they hadn't have done that. But as I said, this was the custom.
You remember when our Lord came to Nazareth? They did the same
thing. The ruler of the synagogue, we're
told, deliver unto him the scroll of Isaiah. Just like they did
with Paul, invited him to speak. And our Lord read it. Oh, but
what a vast difference. He read that, and he said, what
I just read, what you just heard, that's about me. They knew what
he said. They wanted to kill him. Tried
to. But they're talking about me. So this, that Paul was invited
to do, wasn't unusual. But what Paul did with that opportunity
was unusual. John, he made a beeline to Jesus
Christ. The entire message, we just picked
it up in the conclusion of it. But he told them, everything
you just read about, everything you were reading about the prophets,
he said, let me tell you who they're talking about. And he
told them, the Messiah that you just read about, the Messiah
that you claim you're looking for, the Messiah that you say
you have a hope in, that Messiah has already come. He's Jesus
of Nazareth, the mighty God and Savior. This reminded me of Paul's
consistency in preaching Christ, always, in all places and everywhere. You remember when John was in
prison just before he was beheaded? In John chapter 11, we read these
words, verses 2 and 3. Now, when John had heard in prison
the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said
unto him, that is Christ, John said, go ask him this, are thou
he that should come, or do we look for another? As Paul told
them. There's not another. Jesus of
Nazareth is the Christ. And you remember our Lord's answer?
Go and show Jonah again. Go tell him again those things
you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the leopards are cleansed, and the dead hear.
The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached
to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall
not be offended in me. His message wasn't, go tell John
something different. No, you go tell John those things
he already knows. You tell John nothing's changed. Since that day, he baptized me,
and his eyes was open, and he realized that I was the son of
the living God. John said he didn't know that
until that day. I knew him not, John said, until
he came. Oh, tell him nothing's changed. That day when he saw heaven open
and a dove descend, and God Almighty, my Heavenly Father, saying, this
is my beloved son, John, that's still true. There's not a different
Christ. I'm still the Christ. What was
true that day, John, is true now. Jesus Christ, aren't you
glad? He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. If he was the Christ yesterday,
with all that that means, all that that entails, if he was
the Christ yesterday, he's still Christ today. If he's still the
Christ tomorrow, he'll be Christ forever. John, if he could be
trusted yesterday, he can still be trusted today. If he was trustworthy
yesterday, He's still trustworthy today. Even if today finds you,
John, sitting in prison, awaiting execution, surely to beheaded,
Jesus Christ is still the same. He's still worthy of all your
trust, even with your doubts, perplexity, wondering why things
have fallen out like they have. ever been there, wondering about
this strange providence of God, He is still the Christ. And John would very soon find,
what you and I as believers will soon find, that God worked with
all things after the counsel of His own will, and that all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are the called, according to his purpose. That's true of
John the Baptist. That's true of every one of God's
people. Every one of God's people. Paul
in verse 23 here in Acts 13 said, of this man's seed, that is King
David, have God according to his promise raised unto Israel
a Savior. David's God David's King and
Paul says his name is Jesus That's the Messiah That's the one I'm
preaching to you call his name Jesus. Oh, he shall say He shall
say No, buts No ends No, two hard cases. No, he shall save
his people from all their sins. I This is the only name given
among men under heaven whereby we must be saved. Paul laid the
charge of the murder of the Son of God at their feet. He included
that in his message. You're guilty. You're guilty. None righteous know not one.
None that seek after God. You're guilty. You're guilty.
But look at verse 30 here in Acts 13. Look at these sweet
words, but God raised him from the dead. God raised him from the dead. Why did God do that? Because
he was perfectly satisfied with what his son did. If he wasn't,
God wouldn't have raised him from the dead. If he didn't satisfy
God's law, he'd still be in the tomb. If he hadn't redeemed his
people and purged all their sins away, if he hadn't, as he said,
did everything God commanded him to do, sent him to do, when
he said, it is finished, God wouldn't have raised him. He
wouldn't have raised a failure. He wouldn't give a failure the
place at his right hand. He wouldn't highly exalt a failure,
would he, John? No, he said. Psalm 2, why do
the heathen rage? Why did the kings of the earth
set their self against my anointing? God said, I'll just laugh. I'll
just laugh. And I'll set him at my own right
hand. And I'm giving him authority
over everybody, everyone. Every knee shall bow. Paul echoes
the sentiment, echoes the truth. Every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess to my son that he's God, that he's the
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. You remember that the
religious people, after Christ was dead, went to Pilate and
said, we remember, his disciples forgot, but they remembered,
the enemies remembered. That deceiver said when he was
yet alive, that after three days he'd raised from the dead. Now
they're going to steal his body and they'll claim he raised from
the dead and then everything we've done, all this labor, all
this conniving, all this deceit will have been for nothing. Give
us a guard. Pilate, give us a guard. Seal
the tomb. Stand watch." And Pilate, remember
what he said? Prophetically. He didn't realize
it, but he said, go and make it as sure as you can. Do your very best. And that morning, three days
later, some women came to the tomb to finish preparing his
body, and the angel said, he's not here. He's not here. Remember what he told you? He's
risen. He's risen. He sits now at God's
own hand in the heavens. Look at verse 38. We'll be brief.
We'll be brief. Paul, in light of the fact of
Christ's exaltation, of Christ being raised by God, and God
committing all things into his hands, tells them this. Be it
known unto you, therefore, Men and brethren, that through this
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. I'd like
to break that down in three thoughts. The title is Through This Man,
but first consider this. Through this man will be last.
That's the sweetest part. Oh, but this is sweet too. It's
preached unto you. Now, who would have thought that?
Who would have thought that? Is preached unto you? Unto you? Is this glorious gospel preached? Unto you is the forgiveness of
sins? Unto you, through this man, the
Lord of Glory has been revealed? Unto you? Are you kidding me?
No. Unto you. Isn't that amazing?
Fairmont Grace Church Also, we don't have all the trappings.
We don't have all the stuff to attract the crowds. We don't
want it. You know, let them have it. Oh,
it's sad, sad. But unto you, Got a little sign
out there, you can't hardly see it. Fairmont Grace Church. But
unto you, God Almighty has sent his glorious gospel for so many
years unto you, my son. Doesn't that make you feel blessed?
Doesn't that make you feel unique? Doesn't that make you feel obligated
to praise God? Does that not make you bow down
and say in your heart, Lord, why me? Why me? That's amazing. It is unto you. Brother Paul
Mahan referenced this thought in the last message last Sunday
out in Louisville, Arkansas about God's providence in passing by
so many and then bringing his gospel to an obscure place like
Louisville, Arkansas. Each morning we went to a little
town to go to the church from the hotel And I sent Bobby a
picture of it. It was called Buckner. Little
town Buckner, Arkansas. Population 275. God sent the
gospel to that area. Rocky Mount, Virginia. Not Richmond,
Virginia. Rocky Mount. Madisonville, Kentucky,
where David Edmondson pastors. Not Louisville, Kentucky. Not
Lexington, Kentucky. Madisonville, Kentucky. Sylacauga,
Alabama. Sylacauga. Not Birmingham. Sylacauga. Unto you. Not the best known places. Not
the most populated places. Not where the rich and the famous
live. Not where you can go downtown and bump into a celebrity. No,
that's not going to happen. You see your calling, brethren.
How did not many wise men enter the flesh? Not many mighty, not
many noble are called. Well, then who is? God hath chosen
the foolish things of the world that confound the wise. And God
hath chosen the weak things of the world that confound the things
which are mighty. And base things of the world
and things which are despised have God chosen. Yea, and things
which are not, to bring to naught things that are. Why did God
do that? that no flesh should glory in
his presence. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption." God did all that for us. We couldn't
do that. So then, according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. One time our Lord
sent out, other than His immediate disciples, apostles. He sent out 70, and he said,
I'm giving you power to cast out devils, to heal, to preach. And they came back in Luke 10,
and they came back and rejoiced, and they said, oh, master, master,
this is something. Even the devils are subject unto
us through your name. You remember what he said to
them? Remember? I mean, that was something. He said, notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, but rather rejoice in this. And he rejoiced
himself. And he said, all things are delivered
to me and my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but the
Father, and who the Father is but the Son. Rejoice that your
names unto you, your names are written in heaven. Now you can
rejoice in that. Don't worry about overdoing it. Don't worry about going too far.
Don't worry about crossing the line. Your name's written in
heaven. In heaven, we read in Revelation,
there is the Lamb's Book of Life. The Lamb's Book of Life. And
if you could open that book and go down the list. Oh, my
soul, it's a long one. Multitudes that no man can number.
And you just keep going down. Are my eyes deceiving me? Does that say Larry Criss? My name is in the Lamb's Book
of Life. My soul isn't that amazing. Our Lord again said in Luke 10,
blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see and the
things that you hear. A lot of kings, a lot of nobles
wanted to hear and see these things and they, God didn't allow
it, but He has to you. He said you're blessed, you're
happy because you see, you hear. You're not blind anymore. You're
not deaf anymore. Why is that? Why is that? Because
God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined
into your heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God gave you ears. You hear the joyful sound. Jesus
saves. Jesus saves. You've experienced
it. My soul And brothers and sisters,
let's remember, that's not because of who's in the White House here
below, but who's in the Father's house above, the Lamb of God. Let not your heart be troubled,
he said. You believe in God, believe in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions. If it wasn't true, I wouldn't
be telling you. I go to prepare a place for you, for you, unto
you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you, O my soul, that
where I am, there you may be also. Through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins. How about that? Unto you, you,
John K. Copeland, you, from Smith Station,
you, God passed by all those intellectuals and came to you. Under Pad and Terry Hogue, Shelton
Shores, God Almighty came there, came to you. Delilah, Robin, Larry Chris,
that should make, that should be the most amazing thing of
all. Larry Chris. Unto you God sent
His Son to seek and to save you. Unto you He gave His grace. Unto you He revealed His Son. Unto you He wants to be with
Him in glory. Man, isn't that something? Makes
me want to do like David did. When Nathan came to him and said,
God's going to do this and this and this, and David went in and
sat down before the Lord. David was a king. Had been a
king for a while. He acts like a little child.
He's overwhelmed. He sits down like a baby. And King David sat before the
Lord and he said, Lord, who am I? Who am I? He's overwhelmed. Who am I, O Lord God, and what
is my house that Thou hast brought me hitherto? Who am I? Who am I? What was there in you
that could merit esteem or give the Creator delight? T'was even
so, Father, you ever must seem, because it seemed good in Thy
sight. Then give all the glory to His holy name, to Him all
the glory belongs. Be yours the high joy, still
to sound forth His fame, and crown Him in each of your songs."
And here's the second thought, the forgiveness of sins. The
forgiveness of sins. Could you hear anything sweeter
than that? Could you experience anything
better than that? The forgiveness of sins. But
even as I ask that, you, like me, had a time, there was a time,
that forgiveness of sins by God that I sinned against never entered
my thinking. Never thought about it. I could
have cared less about God forgiving my sins. Everything, anything,
was more important to me than that. It didn't matter. People,
rarely but occasionally, would try to witness to me. Man, get
out of my face. Not interesting. The forgiveness
of sins, that's the fatherest thing from my mind. The world
had all my attention. I didn't have time for nothing
else, and neither did you. The things of this world had
my heart, my affection. There was no time for, no interest
in, or no need of the forgiveness of my sins. Neither was there
for you. We were like this. In times past
we walked according to the course of this world and we're by nature
the children of wrath just like everybody else. That's just a
fact. Perhaps we were like those that our Lord spoke to in Matthew
chapter 9 when he said, those that are whole don't need a physician.
But those that are sick, I wasn't sick. I didn't need him. He said,
go and learn what that means. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. Well, that wasn't me. That wasn't
me. But then, but then, somehow,
I really didn't know how. I really didn't understand it
at the time. Much of it I don't understand now, but somehow,
The forgiveness of my sins, Bobby, became the most important thing
in my life. So important that everything
else I threw aside. Those things I once loved, I
now hated. Those things I once cherished,
I now despise. my thought every waking hour,
and when I try to lay down and sleep at night, I must have forgiveness. I'm lost. I'm lost. What happened? What happened?
I remember going to see my grandmother. She was one of the few people
I knew that professed to be a Christian. And I knocked on her door one
night. I used to laugh at her behind her back. Poor old grandma. The only reason she's a Christian,
she's too old to do anything else. She can't go out and party
like me and have fun like me. That's all religion is. It's for old folks that can't
do any better. I was just ignorant, blind, lost. And I went in, sat
down with the tears just running down my face. Grandmother, I'm
lost. I'm lost. And I remember telling her, somebody
came in here right now. and laid a million dollars at
my feet, it would make no difference. What difference would it make?
I don't need money. I need mercy. I'm lost. What happened to me? God. God. I've got four brothers. They've not had that experience. The Lord said, every man that's
learned of the Father, they'll come to me. I learned of the
Father that I was lost. What mattered most of that diseased
leper? I want to be clean. What mattered
most of Barnabas? Oh, I want to see. What mattered
most of that woman in Luke 7? To hear thy sins are forgiven. Go in peace. Thy faith has saved
thee. That's what was most important.
That's all I wanted. That's all I needed, more than
anything else. And glory to his name, I got
it. He gave it to me. When he brought me to that place,
that I fell before him, that's the nothing, worthless thing
I was. And said, Lord, if you will, There's no reason you should.
But if you will, please forgive me. Please grant me mercy. And unto me. Unto me. He did. Lo and behold, I found out later
I was just like those in verse 38 here. As many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. Why was I made to him, writer
said? Why was I made to hear thy voice and enter in Wilder's
room, when thousands make a wretched choice and rather starve than
come? T'was the same love that spread the feast, that sweetly
drew me in, else I would still have refused to eat and perish
in my sin. Let me close with this. Through this
man. the Lord Jesus Christ. Forgiveness
of sins doesn't come through the preacher man, the priest
man, the pope man, the self-righteous man. Forgiveness comes through
one man, the God man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul in Romans
5 and 15 says, but not as the offense, so also as the free
gift. For if through the offense many be made dead, much more
the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by one man,
Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many." There's only one fountain
of living water. There's only one way to God in
grace and glory, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is one God, one
mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. You remember What Pharaoh said
to everybody in Egypt concerning Joseph, he said, don't bother
me with your needs. I don't want to hear them. If
you need anything, go to Joseph. I've made Joseph the head of
that. You go see him. And God says concerning our need
of forgiveness and mercy and grace, go to my son. Go to my son. Hear ye him. If we've received forgiveness
of all our sins and are justified, as we're told in verse 39, of
all things, all things, and all of our sins, all of them, past,
present, future, all our sins are put away through this man. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ setteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affections on things
above, not on things of the earth. For your day and your life is
here with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye appear also with him in glory. That one who bought us with his
blood Now reigns on high the Son of God. This fight our every
fear should quell. Christ Jesus has done all things
well. How sovereign, wonderful, and
free is all his love to sinful me. He plucked me as a bran from
hell. My Jesus has done all things
well. Glory to his name. God bless
you.